


Ragnarok

by Awakened_Earth



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Asgard, End of the World, Gen, Loki helps himself, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, Ragnarok, dubious reasons, everyone is a dick, possible end of the world, they need loki's help!, un-beta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-04
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2017-12-10 10:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awakened_Earth/pseuds/Awakened_Earth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The end of the worlds is approaching. Asgard for unknown reasons, isn't helping. It is all down to the Avengers. They need to both help Asgard and avoid the total destruction of everything. They can't do it alone. Cue Loki; resident god of mischief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Signs

It was a cold to bite at hands and faces, to send a chill through the soul of every mortal on Earth. Ice lay heavy, sleeping on the ground, waiting in its slumber to fell a victim. Lightning crashed, and thunder rolled; no rain followed. No rain, only hail and ice. It was a terrible omen that all could see, for it spread impossibly across the world to even places where the cold had never before ventured.

The Avengers sat around a conference table on the helicarrier discussing what was to be done, and what the strange weather meant.

"It is the middle of summer, and we have ice and storms! Thor is this your doing?" Fury asked. Thor merely shook his head, while he stared meaningfully at the sky.

"Well does anyone have any ideas to –"

"The age is coming." In a quiet voice, though it resounded clearly through the room, Thor cut him off. All eyes turned to him.

"The age?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, the age. This is the first sign of the age of Ragnarök"

"The apocalypse?" Tony voiced his scepticism.

"No, it doesn't have to be, but it is almost definite it will be. I just don't understand why I haven't been called back to Asgard, or why Heimdallr hasn't blown the Gjallrhorn yet. I should have been signalled, even on Midgard"

"Gjallhorn? What the hell is that?" Tony laughed.

"It is the Resounding Horn. The horn owned by Heimdallr, he is to sound it as soon as Ragnarök approaches and he hasn't done it... I don't understand why."

"So what do we do?" Fury prompted.

"We need to get to Asgard."


	2. In Need Of Help

"Asgard?" Clint asked.

"Yes, we must go to see what they are doing about it, why they haven't resounded the horn, and if they need help from the Avengers." Thor answered.

"You mean to say we get to go to Asgard? As in the land of the gods?" Tony excitedly questioned.

"Indeed! Asgard is the land of the gods!

"What about the other gods, like the Olimpians? Do they exist?"

"No, they do not, all gods are just us – the Greek myths are just that, myths."

"And yours aren't?"

"Our myths are not too far off from the truth."

"So, you really did go to a drag wedding, and your brother's had sex with a horse?" Tony asked.

"When you put it that way..." Thor murmured.

"Who cares? We get to go to Asgard!" Clint exclaimed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but they can't go." Fury told them. The Avengers looked at him with the eyes of kicked puppies; Fury sighed.

"Why not?" Steve asked calmly.

"You're the Avengers. You need to look after earth. What would happen if you were needed while you were on your inter-galactic road trip? What then?"

"What you did before we assembled?" Tony supplied, Fury shot him a withering glare.

"I'm sorry Furious One, however Ragnarök affects Midgard also – it is the possibility of the end of all the nine aligned realms. If we do not do anything about it, then Midgard will die." Thor explained.

"Why can't we just leave it down to you Gods? That's what you were going to do in the first place wasn't it?"

"Originally yes, however I should have been called before Midgard got to this stage, in the events of Ragnarök there are ways to warn Gods of foreign lands. I have heard no such warning, so I am wary as to what might be the reason to this. We need to go to Asgard, for if something has happened to the Gods, then it will be down to us to revive them and be ready for the battle for the realms." Thor explained. Fury looked troubled, but let them go none the less.

"How will you get there?" Fury asked.

"Well, we can go to a portal point, and see if the bridge has been repaired, if it is almost complete then we will be able to access it from these weak spots in the fabric of the realm."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then, I am under the impression that you have developed a way to travel between worlds?"

"Yes, Tony has been making it. You will use that." Fury told them.

"Hang on, hang on! It's not complete! It hasn't been tested! I don't know if it's even fit for the teleportation of a fruit! And, and I need to know where exactly it is going! I don't know where Asgard is! There are too many problems!"

"Well, fix them." And that was that, Tony tried to object but every time he did he was just cut off so he just hurried off to finish the device.

Later that day had Thor looking for the portal point. It turned out that the bridge wasn't ready so it was all down to Tony's teleporter. However, it seemed it wasn't meant to be because when he tried to teleport a mango fifty metres; it was successful in the first part, the dissembling of the molecular structure, however it was the reassembling that was the problem.

"Bad news guys, we won't be able to use the teleporter, it's not going to work. Is there any other way to get back? How did you get here in the first place if not because of the tesseract?" Tony said.

"I got here using the portals, the bridge in complete enough to allow us to go from Asgard to here, however we cannot return. I am supposed to return four moons from now, the bridge would be complete by then; alas we cannot use the bridge. However there is another way." Thor explained.

"Which is?" Natasha prompted.

"We must go through the cracks between realms. There are pathways to the other worlds that no one knows."

"So, where are they?" Steve asked.

"I don't know" Thor admitted.

"If you don't know where they are, then how will you use them?" Fury sighed.

"Well, I don't know where they are personally, but I do know someone who uses them, and knows them intimately. They are our only chance of getting to Asgard, and thereby our only chance to try and avert Ragnarök"

"So, who is it?" Fury demanded. Thor hesitated in telling them, for they wouldn't like what they heard.

"Loki."


	3. House Call

As expected, the Avengers did not take it well.

"Loki?" Clint seethed; he had not gotten over the mind control Loki had put him under – the name left a sour taste in his mouth.

It had been a year since the failed invasion; Loki hadn't tried anything in all that time, most people didn't know that Loki was behind the invasion at the time let alone remember it a year on; however the Avengers remembered clearly. They remembered the fight, and the threats, and the blood, and the panic, and the death, and how it was all caused by Loki.

"Yes, Loki. We must seek his help." Thor told them.

"We couldn't get anyone else? Do we really need to contact the psychopath?" Tony asked.

"Yes, we need his help. Remember, he may have been a villain, but he is still my brother." Thor scolded him.

"May have been a villain? He was a villain! He is a villain! And I thought he made clear he wasn't your brother?" Bruce exclaimed.

"No longer is he a villain, it has been many moons since he last committed any act of villainy. He never was a villain; he was a trickster, and prankster. It is only recently he became a villain. I do not understand what may have come over him."

"Temporary insanity, huh?" Clint said to himself sceptically.

"As for his denial of our brotherhood, I will say only this. For all that our blood may be different, I care not for it; only for the bond we share with our memories and our joint childhood. He was and always will be my brother, no matter who mothered him." Thor declared, it made the Avengers think twice about the bond the two had, and made them realise that while Loki was a villain, he was still Thor's family, and it hurt Thor to hear them talking about his brother that way.

"Very well, we need Loki. Now where will you find him?" Fury interjected.

"I believe he will be in England." Thor answered.

"And why, pray tell, will he be in England? This is just a question on how we can use him. Isn't he supposed to have been serving a punishment on Asgard?" Tony asked.

"He has served it. He served his punishment in his mind. It was quickened, in the way you can spend many hours in a dream when only a few minutes has past in the land of the wakeful. His punishment was for until recently, it would be the equivalent of many, many years passing if it were in reality –however the punishment will have been no less real. He will have learnt his lesson. He is on, what you mortals would call probation." Thor explained.

"Why earth? And why is he in England?" Bruce asked.

"I believe he wanted a place to cool off as you would say; a place in which no one knew him. I believe he would have taken on a slight glamour, to ensure those who did not specifically look for it, would not be able to see he is the Loki of the invasion one year ago. He may have decided to come to America, however it is doubtful. He could also be in Scandinavia – he spent many a year there in the distant past of this realm. It will be here, Scandinavia or in England. He would most definitely be in the big cities of each place."

"So, New York, London or whatever the largest Scandinavian city is then... Well, that narrows it down." Natasha commented.

"Start a search, get surveillance of each place – try and find a match." Fury commanded a few agents.

An hour later found a Ninety-four percent match on Loki in Manhattan. The Avengers set out to seek help from Loki, asking around near the place he was seen. After a day of searching they had managed to locate an apartment in which it seemed Loki was residing. Steve knocked on the door before letting themselves in, using the key the landlord had given them. Loki sat alone on the sofa, facing away from them. They could not see his face, though he gave no signs of hearing the door open. Without turning to see who it was, or undertaking any reaction at all, he spoke.

"Welcome, Earth's mightiest hero's. What a pleasant surprise, I didn't realise the Avengers made house calls. Now, how can I help you?" With this, he turned to flash a mischievous smile at them.


	4. Pathways

"House calls" Clint scoffed.

"I think you know full why we're here Loki" Steve scorned.

"I assure you, I have no idea as to what you may be implying. Shouldn't you be off somewhere saving the world?" Loki chimed.

"We are off to save the world." Tony supplied.

"Oh, are you now? So why prey tell me would that include me? I haven't done anything since my so humiliating defeat; unless... You seek my help." At this the Avengers shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, well, well. The Avengers, Earth Mightiest Hero's are asking for the help of a convict, a super villain. Well isn't this nice, however I can't help but notice, you have not yet informed me of your predicament."

"We need to get to Asgard brother." Tor said.

"Do you now? And my, might I ask, do you need to get to Asgard?" Loki snidely inquired.

"The Bifröst bridge is still incomplete." Thor answered.

"So?"

"So Rangarök has come, and we need to get to Asgard."

"So they have called you back, but they have no means of transportation for you? How rude of them to expect that of you." Loki joked.

"This is the problem, brother, they have not called. I have heard not even a whisper from them. It has me worried; I should have been contacted immediately. We must venture to our home to find what is happening."

"You need a way to get to Asgard? And they haven't contacted you? That is worrisome; however, what do you expect me to do? Shouldn't you just wait until the bridge is complete?" Loki asked.

"By then I fear it will be too late, we need to go now! I believe something has happened in Asgard, we must find out! You know your way between the worlds! You know the pathways, and the cracks and the unseen ways! We need your help. Help us, if not for us, but to stave of Ragnarök, for if not, then it will be the end of everything and that does not play well in your favour." Thor finished, by the end he was panting lightly and looking more than a little bit deranged. Loki made a show about thinking on it, however a few moments later he had agreed under some strict terms.

"I will not, I repeat, not! Be held responsible if one of you die on the journey" Loki told them. They looked rather suspicious of them at hearing this point.

"What? So you can kill us and then get away with it?" Clint challenged.

"I would not try to do so. It would not be in my interests to kill you – I need you to help us with Ragnarök; I do not want that to happen so if anything I would destroy you after you help save the nine realms. That is, if I feel like it; I don't at the moment, but things may change."

"Comforting thought... But that doesn't explain why one of us may die." Clint continued.

"It is easy to lose your way and be lost between worlds. That way you may not die, but you would be lost in the void possibly for all eternity, it is a fate worse than death – insanity will surely follow. The only way out of that fate is if you were saved by a species that crosses the void space... Also, there will be many perils, and you may find yourself fighting for your life, so in that case, it is easy to die; I do not want to be blamed for any of it."

"Okay, fair enough. What else do you want?" Steve asked.

"As well as to not be held responsible for you, I want full reign of my powers and still not be prosecuted for using them. This, and protection from the many species still seeking vengeance upon my blood." Loki told them.

The others didn't like it. They didn't like the idea of Loki being able to use his powers, however they agreed. They needed him, and he could easily refuse to help. They understood that Loki could have asked for more, but he didn't, so they reluctantly agreed; what he asked for seemed at least semi-reasonable.

"So, Loki. What do we do now?" Tony asked.

"We must find a way onto the pathways." Loki replied, not moving from his place on his sofa.

"And how do we do this?" Steve prompted.

"There are a few ways; it depends on what you are prepared to do. Some ways need more skill than others. Some need a blood sacrifice. Some are slightly mentally jarring, I do not know how you would feel walking through a mirror and then on a pathway that appears not to be there. Once on the pathways you must again decide which way to go; direct routes are more perilous than the long ones... How do you want to get there?" Loki asked.

"Urh, we want the pathway that is the most direct for how dangerous it is." Steve told him.

"In the case of going from Midgard to Asgard, the shortest route is the second most dangerous, we shall go that way. There are less dangerous choices; however the difference in the possibility of death is not enough to make the difference in length worthwhile."

"I don't like the idea of a path that can easily kill us, but if it's the best choice, how do we do it?" Tony asked.

"Are you familiar with a book called Alice in Wonderland? Through the Looking Glass?" Loki asked.

"Yes, I am." Steve answered.

"We shall enchant a mirror to allow us onto the plane of being in which we will walk. I will explain next after we have done so."

With that Loki walked out of his living room and into a room full of mirrors. The Avengers followed. They found the room disconcerting, it was strange to walk into a room made of nothing but mirrors. Once the door had closed it was almost impossible to find their way out; the only clue to the door was the slight outline of silver around it. They watched in amazement as all the mirrors shone with Loki's magic and ceased to reflect but rather show them to be in the middle of a pathway, stretching out as far as the eye could see in all directions. Loki told them that no matter where they were, the physical realms were at the crossroads of all things despite how impossible it may seem. The Avengers did not understand why it may seem impossible, but Thor did, and they would soon too, understand.


	5. First Steps

As they stepped through the mirror they were hit by the sight of endless midnight skies, pathways crisscrossed- all seemingly one path although separated into many roads. All seemed real, however only the one they walked onto was reachable; for each other path strayed further and further away with each step, no matter which way they trod. They walked for what seemed like minutes, not long enough for the other paths to have disappeared, however they found themselves alone on the road they were walking; the mirror was no longer visible, their path stretched at far as the eye could see in both directions.

The path did not look real, however felt solid underneath their feet. It was not transparent, though they knew what was visible directly below as if it were; they did not know how they knew, or why they knew, just that in the way a dreamer can control a dream, they knew. As a consequence it was if walking on an illusion; it could fall through at any moment.

To either side of the path was endless space – stars littered the distance, although they recognised within their souls that they were not really there; just the manifestation of the destinations each path would lead to. It was understood that if they were to get close to one of these stars it would in fact just be a mirror.

There were hundreds of the stars, each connecting to a magical signature of a region of the realms in question. It acted as if connecting to a general postal code. Each mirror in the between world would then be able to connect to any reflective surface large enough for them to pass through.

Loki understood that they were travelling through an in-between realm. It was not mean for the physical nature; it was a realm of magic, of illusions. It connected everything and nothing, all at the same time. He knew this realm well, he had been invited into it as a child – the realm had allowed him to explore it in all its magnificence. The realm was much more than just a way of getting to another realm, it was a place for intelligence and curiosity, but more importantly, it was a place for lost souls.

Loki had first found it in his dreams as a child – he knew instinctively to keep it a secret from the others; they wouldn't have understood, just would have put it down to childish imagination or dreams, though he knew it was real. He found solace in the exploration of the non-realm. He never got lost, the realms would not have allowed it; always just as he would have been lost for eternity he would wake up. It was like this he learned the way. He came to know the cracks between worlds better than he knew Asgard itself. It was there he met other souls who had somehow found their way into the between. He spent time making friends with children from other realms who did not know it was real – would though he and others that wondered were just dreams; he let them think that, he was special in his knowledge of the truth.

Gradually he came to be more practiced in his magic and so could make the journey through the world without needing to sleep. No mirrors were needed to journey to other worlds within his mind – he soon became experienced that he could project his mind to another place directly; it was like this how he talked to the leader of the Chitauri while his body stayed in Germany.

They walked for hours though no exhaustion crept into their bones. As humans the Avengers could not quite wrap their heads around the illusionary state of the Between; Thor was a little better though Loki was the only one able to understand – how could he not when he had spent so much time there?

Loki had said that the journey was perilous, though nothing had happened yet. They also did not understand how there could be so many paths from one entry to the between, though there was only one path, and were only in a straight line. Loki had failed to explain that they had not yet reached a crossover of paths yet.

There were many crossovers, each had a different amount of separate paths connecting to it; it was in this that lay the danger. There was a crossover for each mirror, and many in between; after they left the first crossover they would be in an impossibly complicated web of pathways. The simpler the path, the more complicated the network. The illusionary nature of the realm would also begin to get thicker, soon they would find it easy to lose each other and become a lost soul, doomed to wonder the between until rescued. It was also likely they would lose the grip on their reality and go insane – if this happened it would be almost impossible for them to pass through another mirror, though they would be restored to sanity once through.

Soon they would need to stick close to each other; everyone needed to be accounted for at all times. They would possibly need to hold hand to make it through the between. Loki would be fine; The Between always welcomes him; however the others were travellers, not guests. There were no monsters for them to fight, for the most terrible of all dangers would be their own minds.


	6. The Between

"What was that?" Tony asked, looking around curiously.

"What was what?" Natasha asked. Tony looked to her briefly before returning to look for the noise.

"I heard a noise." He answered. "It must have been my imagination."

"You are correct in that conclusion Stark. You are beginning to feel the effects of this realm." Loki said nothing more; though it was obvious Tony had questions. He just led them on the path to the first crossover. It was a tree, their pathway slowly thinned out into a root connected to the tree. Bruce was the one to slip; one foot slipped off and he began to fall from the root. Loki caught his arm, he was crouched on the root; one leg more that the bent than the other and his other hand was behind him; clasped to the root as to not fall himself as he lent far over to bring Bruce back up. He brought Bruce far enough up to let the others easily bring him the rest of the way. Not bothering to check if he was okay, Loki carried on to the tree.

His performance allowed the others to see a little into how graceful and athletic Loki was. The fact that he had easily pulled Bruce up with one arm, then stand up like it was nothing despite how thin he looked and how his weight was far off centre helped them a little to understand that he was actually a god. They had seen displays from Thor to remind them he was a god, though he was never that graceful, and while he was stronger, he would have no doubt needed to shift his weight to the centre of the branch before standing up, much like a human. It was evident their godly natures just presented themselves in different fashions. It made them wonder, if Loki was actually the god they were beginning to see, how they defeated him in the first place. As far as they could remember he didn't actually do any fighting, and what he did do, his opponents didn't last very long at all. How Loki had been defeated is he had been caught off guard and then smashed into marble several times. A Loki who could catch a speeding arrow and inch before hitting his face wouldn't have been caught off guard enough for the Hulk to 'smash' him. Was Loki even serious about their battle? If not, they would hate to see him when he was.

Once they got closer to the tree, roots seemed to form together before they were walking across uneven ground to a tree that was in the middle of this massive plain of roots.

"What I said to you before wasn't exactly true when I said there was a complete direct route to our destination. There are thousands upon thousands of paths from each cross point. You see how the one we walked upon is a different colour to the rest? Well that is to show that is the way to this cross points mirror. There are a lot of ways to get to each pathway, some paths connect to other trees, sometimes you have to jump of one path to land on another – it is all very complicated. What I meant is that the shortest route as the cross flies, is the most dangerous. Some you can just walk across, and it is hard to get lost on them, although those paths take months to cross. This one should only take a couple hours more. Though the way is very complicated, and it is easy to get lost. Also, because this place is not a place for physical beings, your mind may start to turn against you, you can go insane here, though if that happens, you will be returned to normal if you make it to the other side. You will need to stay close if you want to live. Don't trust what you see, in reality you will just be on a path like we were just on – do not stray from the path! You may not be able to see it, but we will be walking straight, do not try to walk around obstacles or dangers – they are not there!" Loki finished his lecture and the others regarded him with somewhat of a sceptical eye. Thor however did not, as he knew what Loki said to be true.

Loki found the path they were to walk, though the others had no idea how, and soon they were on their way. Within seconds of their feet touching the midnight pathway the anxiety set in. Their minds had started to rebel. It started as just a simple trip here and there, as they saw roots and weeds littering the pathway, when they tried to step over on top of them, they would trip due to hoe the rots were not actually there. In the beginning it was something simple like that, but then it came to be them no longer seeing the pathway, but a field with gaping holes in their way – Loki's words were close enough in their minds that they could still ignore it – however it had only been a minute or two; they had hours ahead of them. The danger had set in.


	7. Nightmares

The road was long. They all knew that, but not as well as Loki. They didn't realise it because of the illusions but he had saved them more times that he could count in the first hour and he was getting weary – no rest for the wicked and all that. The next crossing was coming into view, they wouldn't be taking it, but the landmark was well appreciated as a road sign, two more hours to go and hell of lot illusions.

The nightmares had started to kick in, it was obvious they weren't real but it was scary none the less. The cave loomed around Tony, no matter how he walked he stayed in place, walking on the spot – the only thing keeping him grounded was his hands on the shoulders in front, and on his own shoulders gripping fingers.

Clint had his own worries, his time with Loki last time left him with lasting damage, all he could see in front of him was Loki, but not real Loki, a laughing, taunting Loki – no sound came from his mouth as he laughed, there was no sound at all – just the sight of Loki and his blood filled eyes. He could feel people in front and behind him, and he knew for certain what he was seeing was just in his mind, but it didn't stop him from wanting to run at Loki with all he had, or cowering in a ball begging for mercy and forgiveness from any divine being that would listen.

Bruce just thought about the Hulk – nothing big or scary; just depressing, to the front was everything he didn't want to happen, all the bad things; to his sides were good, like finding a way to get rid of the Hulk, or at least learn how to control it fully. Because of this he knew he must stay forward, the happy was a lie, he knew that, and so Loki's words rang in his ears, don't stray from the path, whatever you do, do not stray from the path.

Natasha had nothing, nothing at all, no sight, so sound, no feeling other than those at her hands and shoulders. Apparently nothing could be as frightening as nothing itself.

Steve thought about the war, no nightmares so to speak, general ones that everyone has, but more regrets than anything; to stray from the path was to fix things, make things right – but he was well adjusted enough in himself to know some things were in the path, and his regrets would always haunt him, he accepted this, however it didn't make it any easier to keep to the path.

Thor did not dream – he was the only one not to mention Loki, who could at least see the pathway. He could see the line they were in, the path and the diligence with which Loki led them to safety. Despite seeing the truth, he still saw illusions, however they were traditional in the sense of the word, wispy, no substance – only whispers, worries, he wouldn't succeed, it was the end of the Gods, and he would be a terrible king – the usual paranoia magnified by the dire situation.

Abruptly the steady progression of the line stopped – all illusions dissipated away into nothingness. The path carried on in front of them, however beside them was a crossing – this was the reason their heads had cleared, as much as the between space didn't like new people, it wasn't so sadistic as to not let people know where the crossings were, those with strong minds would ignore all illusions and carry on, not knowing at that point it was safe to jump from the path – and those without such strength would have not reached the crossing in the first place – the Between had a sick sense of humour but everyone needed at least a small chance, and giving them clarity at the crossing points was that chance; it also gave Loki a chance, a chance to talk to the group before the next bout of illusions set in.

"We are not taking this crossing, we will be carrying on until the next one, it will be short and the road from then on relatively easy – this last part of the journey has taken about one hour, we have a few to go, however the next part will be much more dangerous than what you have already experienced." Loki started. They really didn't like the sound of that, not one bit, worse than before? But how could that be possible? It was already taking everything they had to keep walking forward.

"You will be more or less on your own – while the nightmares may not seem as bad, the next part of the journey will be the one to make you stray the path if you ever do. Most likely scenario it will seem as if the path is bending, it will not be, at least not in the way it will seem to you. Close your eyes if you must, but just keep straight forward, even if you are about to step of. These illusions will try to make it seem as if they are real – they are not, remember that, much like in a dream, it will seem real once you are in it, but ultimately you will know when you are in the reality of the between if you wonder even a little, then rest assured, it is an illusion." Loki explained quickly.

Thor then proceeded to say something in what sounded like rapid Norse, Loki then replied in the ancient language, whatever Loki said in reply seemed to both put Thor at ease and agitate him further, Tony wanted ask about the short conversation but thought it would be wise to hold off the questioning for a time when a magic realm wasn't trying to kill him, or hack his brain part with illusions, or psychologically torture him – he would have been reassured with the fact that none of it was real, however the reminder that the realm was sentient did little to help him, that and the fact that the homicidal sentient realm only seemed to like Loki – the same Loki that had tried to take over his planet too short a time ago to put his mind to rest... All was not well.

And so they continued, and as Loki said the illusions became more subtly and increasingly deadly. By the time they reached the next crossing each had their eyes tightly shut and was sweating with the anxiety – even Thor had succumbed to the illusions and so had shut his eyes; however he did seem more at ease than the mortals. A crossing later and they proceeded along a path much like the first, only illusionary roots littered the way here and there, until in the distance they saw a star straight ahead, it was the opening they were to take, at last!

An hour of incredibly boring trekking and little talk finally placed them at the mirror way, Thor was to go first – so as not to leaves the mortals unprotected when they went through, and so not to leave them unprotected in the still hostile world. Last to go through was Loki; he made his quick goodbyes to the realm before also walking through the doorway and disconnecting the mirror they used to the local gateway.

Finally the real work could start.


	8. Svartalfheim - part one

Where they emerged was not Asgard. Oops. Why wasn’t it Asgard? Seriously, they went through all those nightmares, possibly triggers for PTSD to not end up in Asgard?

What. The fuck?

“I believe that Asgard has entered a precarious state, what this state is I cannot be certain; however I think it would be wise to approach the city from afar. If there is something wrong, we will need to be prepared for it long before we reach there. When I said the journey would be dangerous you didn’t honestly think I only meant those illusions did you?” Loki explained.

“Brother, where are we?” Thor inquired.

“Svartalfheim, land of the dark elves.” The god replied.

“I’m sorry, what? Dark elves? What are they, and why are they dark?” Clint asked.

“They are dark because of the nature of their race. You must remember, dark does not mean evil. All elves have superhuman strength as well as high speed, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes. However unlike their light counterparts, some Dark Elves can use Fae magic to fight, teleport, heal and shape-shift. They also have gifted intellects. ” Loki explained.

“They are in no way evil, a little more hostile, yes, but only because for the way they look, they have been persecuted further than their light cousins. Several races have tried and failed to take over their realm already and so they are wary of outsiders.” He continued.

“How they look? You mean to say the nine realms have racism?” Bruce asked, his curious nature once again taking form.

“Of course there is racism! Did you honestly think immortals could ever possible evolve their cultures so? We live far too long, and have far too long to indoctrinate our children to really change anything. We do not have racism as you are thinking of it – unlike your human racists, these people are actually from different species and different realms. We have only been the nine allied realms for a short while – only since Odin came into power and defeated Bor. A few millennia cannot reverse all the damage from eons of war.”

The way Loki explained this was as if to children - of course they were children to him, he may not have yet reached maximum emotional maturity, but several thousands of years can make one mature in other ways. Loki may not have been emotionally stable, but he was wise beyond his years.

“Aye, unfortunately, this is true. Hopefully, as the next generation take charge things will change.” Thor confirmed.

“So what will happen to us if we come across anyone – you said they were… wary of outsiders.” Steve asked.

“I am not sure for certain; while they have been known to be accommodating, they do not like outsiders unannounced, and so we will probably be brought before the queen. It really depends if I still hold her favour and if she still likes, _mortals._

“It has been a long time since you have last visited Brother, are you sure it wise to journey through such a hostile realm?” Thor asked.

“It is unlikely the Elves will be of much trouble for us – perhaps the beasts will cause some concern as the mortals are unused to such things. This is the route we will take; it is the most efficient course of action.” Loki explained. “Hostile really starts when we get to the other realms. Especially for those who have grievances towards Asgard and will recognise us as the crowned princes, even if it is common knowledge for my current alienation towards the realm.”

“Grievances?” Steve asked, slightly confused as to what he could be referring to.

“You didn’t honestly think all would be forgiven once I had been punished did you? It has of course been longer for me than it has for the others however despite knowing that I have been punished adequately, you still mistrusted me, there is still hostility; the same applied for my home realm. I am steering clear of them for a while, I should be able to return –assuming all goes well in this instance- in another hundred years or so, or at least on a part time basis when Thor takes his place as king” Loki explained, while leading them through the land.

 

Loki explained to them that once they would not be taking the mirror way again, it was already verging on side of dangerous for the mortals, and soon would be too much for Thor too. They would have to find a portal point to connect to Asgard. Of course, they would have to find a realm which would allow them to use one that was up to Loki’s high standards, it would not do for the mortals’ molecules to end up scattered across the cosmos. But for now, they needed to make it across Svartalfheim; preferably without hostile intervention.

Of course, as according to Murphy’s Law; anything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and so it was only a matter of time until the local fauna came to bid them greetings.

Mares were species of beast that lived on Svartalfheim, they looked a lot like Dark Elves, but of course, were not actually them. They were terrible creatures, and screeched through the rifts between the realms which sent nightmares to people using psychic waves. Mares, though they fed of the fear of mortals (as the only species on the middle layer of Ysgard to really be susceptible in that way) they were not averse to tearing the flesh of passers-by.

Mares were nasty, vicious little buggers.

As the Avengers were about to find out.

“What… The hell, is that?” Tony demanded, eyeing the shrunken creature a few hundred yards from them, lurking on the hillside

“A Mare” Answered Thor.

“A what?” Steve asked.

“A Mare – they cause nightmares. Generally in Human children. They feed of the fear and screams that reverberate back on the psychic waves. They also can strip the flesh from a cow in four minutes.” Loki replied.

“So they’re kind of like the monsters from Monsters Inc. then huh?” Tony commented, earning an irritated glare from a few of the avengers and confusion from Loki, Steve and Thor, each of who missed the reference to ‘scream energy’

“So they have cows here?” Bruce asked, ever the scientist.

At this Loki and Thor actually blushed, or at least did the equivalent, they looked away with the guilt of child caught out doing something they shouldn’t.

“No…” Loki hedged.

“We… may have… as children, stole several farm stock when visiting Midgard… We used to drop them in random realms… We may have then allowed used one as bait to attempt to catch a Mare… It didn’t exactly go as according to plan” Thor explained. They both, despite chagrin showing on their faces, there was also reminiscence.

“How old were you?” Steve asked, curious to hear about the god’s shared positive experience.

“By human standards, we were probably about nine. Of course, it’s only an approximation as that’s only by appearance. We were actually about one thousand years old at that time.”

By this time, unfortunately for the mortals, and the gods that had to make sure they didn’t die – the Mare had spotted those walking by the hill it had been and proceeded to stalk its prey.

 

They were not in for a fun time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - I had most of this chapter written for a little while, but I just finished it today - if the ending seems a little rushed, that's because it was (I decided it had been too long since I had updated my main story - I don't want this one to end up like my other ongoing stories that never get finished... most of them I haven't uploaded any of the chapters for this reason)
> 
> Mares: they are actually another name for Dark Elves. In Norse mythology Dark Elves turn to stone in sunlight and sit on your chest when you sleep and whisper horrible things to you to provoke nightmares. I have chose not to use this;
> 
> As you could probably already tell, for my Norse knowledge, I use some Marvel facts that I either remember or fine of the Marvel wiki, and I use some actual mythology - stuff I either remember or have read.
> 
> Svartalfheim is on the middle level of Ysgard (The Nine Realms, or the realms that are connected by the routes of Ygdrasil. It is there with Midgard and Jotunheim.
> 
>  
> 
> The Bifrost only connects Asgard to Midgard - not to anywhere else.
> 
>  
> 
> For the purposes of this story - Gods emotionally mature at the same rate as humans - when they look like a nine year old they are as mature as an average nine year old - however once they reach around thirty they reach their peak and can only add life experience. Gods however, because of their long life, despite the emotional maturity, are far more knowledgeable, and wiser in the long run - they also have happier lives because they don't have to start helping other species (specifically answering Mortals prayers) until much much later and so have longer to just be children.


	9. Svartalfheim - part two

At least, the Avengers weren't in for a fun time. The crowned brothers were strong enough and familiar enough with mares to have no real worry for the beast.

“I would suggest you run. That way.” Loki said, pointing them east. Quick to heed their guide’s words, they ran.

And so did the mare.

_Fuck!_

The mare had four legs, and could run faster than a squirrel.

_Double fuck!_

However it was a far way behind them and wouldn't catch up for a little while, if they carried on running at full speed. This, of course, was when a second mare blocked them from the front.

_Triple fuck with fucking BELLS on it!_

“What… Do… We… Do… Now?!” Tony asked, out of breath from running.

“Just a little further, there’s a way into the hill up ahead. The mare in front hasn't recognized us as prey yet. It is too distracted by us running towards it. Just don’t turn your back on it and we’ll be fine from it.” Loki replied, not even breaking a sweat.

“Then… Why… Did… We… Run… From… That… One?” Steve asked, annoyed at this revelation.

“The one behind us had already seen us to be prey Friend Steve, running has made no difference in that.” Thor answered him.

The mortals made a noncommittal sound, as they continued to run after Loki who was leading them with Thor bringing up the rear. Suddenly Loki veered left into what looked like a solid rock face of the hill.

“Do not worry dear friends, it is only an illusion, follow Loki into the hill.” Thor boomed out to them.

Even though their brains were screaming at them to stop, they were also telling them to trust Thor; that Loki did not want them dead and was the expert in this moment. So they held their breath to run through the wall – and then immediately off a ledge into a giant pool of water.

When they had all recovered from the shock of suddenly falling into water, including Thor, they noticed Loki was not with them but still up on the ledge giggling.

“Oh my! I’m sorry, forgot to mention the ledge! I can understand how uncoordinated the mortals are, but you really should have known Thor.” Loki announced full of glee.

“Haha, aye, Brother. However I thought we were to emerge in a tunnel before we reached the pool.” Thor called from the water, idly swimming while the Avengers crawled out onto the verge like drowned rats emerging from the sodding lagoon.

“That’s the other side Thor. No, Mortals, do not get out – the waters have healing powers. Swim for a while, gain your strength, drink a little.” Loki told them as he started to strip from his armour. When he had only his underclothes left, his leathers discarded in a pile beside the rest, he dived into the pool with them.

Loki did not emerge from the waters for some time, and when he did the hidden tension from his shoulders was gone. The overlooked abrasions on his body healed. For the first time ever the Avengers saw him look healthy.

There was no big difference, but the overall change was astounding. A clatter brought their attention back to the verge where Thor was dropping his armour, only his trousers remained. Loki, unnoticed to most of them just rolled his eyes as Thor splashed into the pool, small cuts healing with a slight hiss in the presence of the water.

Soon the others followed the brothers in stripping, drinking and bathing. Old aches and pains, injuries, phantoms and tensions melting away into the water leaving only content.

The twinge in Natasha’s knee from the last time a mission went downhill just eroded into nothing. The ache Tony still had from his long past Polonium poisoning healed, microscopic scarring to his soft tissue and blood vessels healed without a trace. The tension Steve didn’t know he was carrying since his transformation left him – for the first time he felt truly comfortable in his new body. Clint’s badly healed nose and fingers corrected themselves and Bruce felt the most calm he had since the Other Guy took over his life, he was in the most control of his beast as he ever had been.

Aching muscles and fatigue made way for rejuvenation.

“We can bottle some water for if we need it later. A simple mouthful will quench even the worst of thirst and a splash will heal most superficial injuries, cleaning deeper ones will heal then considerably.” Thor informed the Avengers.

Loki then turned to Bruce, anticipating the question that was sure to follow.

“It’s just…Wounds healed, but not just that, old injuries, things not quite healed properly, scarring! Hell, I’m the calmest I’ve been in a long time, the Other Guy reigned in!” Bruce said.

“Is that a question or a statement?” Loki asked.

“It’s just, how does it work, how far will it work? Would it work on the Other Guy?”

“It works in a mixture of targeting healing magics. For physical and for mental. Unfortunately the natural healing springs cannot be replicated – this came about from a great civil war eons ago, a magic war, however the magic of the dead seeped into the earth here and brought nourishment back to the land. Magic generally can be described as life itself – it is balance, it is nature, it has no agenda and so follows the laws of balance – after much death there was healing, and it just… didn’t leave.

As for your “Other Guy” should you meditate to control the beast drinking and bathing in the waters will give you a – as you would say – a “safety net” to carry out your endeavors. Of course if you were to just learn balance the monster will fall in line with it.” Loki explained, cleaning the dirt from his face, neck and hair. Tunic removed also now.

“Mental? Could mental illnesses be cured with this?” Natasha asked, eyeing Loki with a new curiosity.

“Perhaps.” He conceded. “Probably not on its own however. It would need further targeting, and something similar to your Midgardian “therapy” to find exactly what needs to be “cured”. Mental will usually just strip any malicious intent on the mind, providing they are not too strong or integrated in the victims mind. The magic here will not risk life, nor magic, nor mind or soul and if too integrated separation can maim – The control Barton was in, for example, would have been stripped in these waters, however if we were to be controlled by Tesseract power directly, rather than a splinter power it would not. To be put simply, it is unlikely that it would fix anything naturally occurring in the mind by itself, such as it fixes injuries, but won’t help with natural deformities. Integrated control, or mental injury too deeply ingrained reacts as naturally occurring, it’s too entwined.”

It was interesting for them to hear this from him. They were just wondering if he was under any sort of control, as he seemed more reasonable since he entered the water than they had ever seen him. The sanest. It could be that he was under control, and the waters healed him, perhaps if he looked within he would see the illness and be able to fix it with whatever targeting magic or something.

No. Loki wasn’t ill, he had been fatigued, and was hurting for a long time and the waters fixed that. His mind was fine. He was just a bad person, but his sentence had been so long, he had to face himself, and repented and all that, and was a new person, or at least wasn’t evil anymore. Wasn’t good. Just wasn’t evil. It helped that he was on some magical anti-depressants that helped with the feelings that sent him into the verges of “evil” in the first place, a long time before he ever found out his true heritage.

Loki and Thor didn’t want to stay too long, but decided to wait until dark to leave it would mean that the next world they were to jump to would be in daylight when they arrived which is what they needed, and it gave them all time to rest; the waters could only do so much.

 

When the time came, and they set out again, it took about an hour’s walk to the transfer point. It should have taken longer, though apparently there had been a collapse in one of the paths that actually made a shortcut.

“Huh” Tony huffed once they were in the between again.

“What is it metal man?” Loki asked, looking for their exit.

“It’s just that I have a missed call”

“You get signal here?” Clint commented, looking back around at him, a dubious frown battling the indulging smile for the rights to wrinkle his eyes.

“You are between worlds young Hawk, you are technically at all points in the universe, you will always have ‘signal’” Loki sighed.

“Oh my god,” Tony gasped. “Fury’s dead.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, sorry. Yep, this fic has changed to major character death. Did you like it? Sorry I haven't written anything in so long. I've put everything else on hold for this fic, I need to finally actually finish one. At least I didn't really include anything about Fury in this, so it wasn't bad, sorry to all those Fury lovers out there. Comment, some R&R would be much appreciated, comments feed me!


	10. Rest

The party stopped in their tracks, Loki walking only a few more paces before sighing in exasperation and turning to face them.

“Hurry, we have no time to spare, we must continue on.”

No one moved.

“Dead? What do you mean dead?” Clint demanded.

“I mean he was shot eight times point blank in the chest and stomach – body armour did nothing.” Tony replied, staring at his Stark-Phone.

Those who brought some, joined Tony in checking their phones. It dawned on them, one by one that Tony was not mistaken in his statement.

“It is unfortunate about your Director, however we do not have time to speculate about it or mourn, do you not remember the longer we spend here the more dangerous it will become for you?!” Loki reiterated. Thor hummed in agreement.

“Aye, it is a sad thing indeed for the death of your Fury, however my brother is correct, we must press on!”

Loki turned on his heel to head on, he did not wait for the others. Reluctantly, after the shock had worn off some about Fury, they pressed on after their guide.

It didn’t take long to reach their next stop, though it was not a realm they ended at. It was a small desolate crater floating in a void with no stars, in the distance mirror portals glittered. They could see each-other clearly despite the apparent lack of a light source. The mirrors each seemed to be near a crater of their own, with no obvious way to get from one to the other.

“We will rest here for now. You will need it for the next part of our journey, it has been longer than you think since we left the waters.” Loki said, setting himself down onto the rock floor. His helmet in front of him, propped up by its horns. “You may take your fill if you wish” he gestured to the berries suddenly filling the helmet.

“There doesn’t seem to be enough to take our fill, and how do you know they’re not poisonous?” Steve commented, eyeing the berries distrustfully. Loki snorted, took one berry and plopped it into his mouth. Thor did the same.

“No need to worry friends, the berries are safe. Loki and I spent much time on other worlds during our youth. So long as guard knew where we were, we were allowed many places and only had to return to the palace at sun down. The berries are safe” Thor told them, taking another berry.

“That’s all well and good, but how do we know they’re safe for human consumption” The Widow asked. “And there still doesn’t seem to be too many of them”

“The berries are a foreign strain of your Midguardian currents, you need not worry. And as for them running out, they will not.” Loki sighed.

The Avengers still didn’t trust Loki, but Thor said it was okay, so they tried the berries. The berries were more filing than usual, one berry as filling as an orange. A few berries each and they were full, ready to sleep, the helmet was still mostly full. Tony squinted at the helmet. Loki had been wearing that earlier, where had the berries come from?

“I do not have time to explain how my magic works Stark. You are not yet technologically advanced to even have the vocabulary to understand. It would take several weeks, maybe when we are back on Midguard.” Loki said before Tony could even open his mouth to ask. He wasn’t happy with Loki’s answer, but accepted it with the knowledge it was for the best.

“Now rest my comrades, Loki will make sure we do not need a lookout so we may be off as soon as possible” Thor said. One by one the Avengers lay down and slept, ready for the next day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time. We'll get back into the story next time. Sorry for taking so long (at least you're not on ff, I realised I had forgotten to post chapter 9 over there when I went to post chapter 10, and I don't think I even have chapter 7 on dA!). Anyway, I am at university, and have a lot of stress and work, (and write slowly anyway) so thankyou for being patient, but I have set aside time to write, so hopefully it will be a little quicker than it has been.
> 
> As always, comments and reviews feed the author, and it is always nice (and needed) to know what you guys think. If you want to tell me theories you can (and if I end up using them, I will credit you, so there's that). R&R. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
